


Winter Wonderland

by accioweasleys4



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Developing Friendships, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gryffindor/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25675273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/accioweasleys4/pseuds/accioweasleys4
Summary: What happens when an unlikely friendship between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin blossoms? Katie Bell and Marcus Flint develop an unexpected friendship but they try to keep it a secret. What happens if it becomes something more?
Relationships: Katie Bell/Marcus Flint
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

Katie could tell it was snowing one morning even before she could wake up. She could always sense when the first snow fall of the season would arrive, and she knew it would be any day now.

She grinned as she opened the window to watch the snowflakes fall, but this caused her dorm mates to stir. "Why are you up so early? It's cold outside, close the window."

"It's snowing, Angelina!"

"So? That just means practice later will be cold."

Katie frowned at her friend's lack of enthusiasm. She grinned down at the snow and decided to head to the Quidditch pitch early. Nobody would judge her there.

There was already a good five inches of snow by the time Katie made it down to the field. She soaked in the silence for a moment with a dreamy smile on her face and then sat down. She placed her hands in the snow and smiled. She always loved how fresh the snow was when it first fell.

She closed her eyes and began making a snow angel.

She didn't know how long she was there for. She didn't hear anybody come up, but all of a sudden she heard a voice. "Silly girl, what are you doing?"

Katie opened her eyes and saw the baby blue sky and Marcus Flint kneeling above her. She couldn't remember when they became friends really. They ran into each other in the corridors a few times and they liked to do homework at the same study spots. Nobody knew they were friends. They would have a field day if they knew.

"I'm making a snow angel," she said dreamily as she flapped her arms and legs up and down to demonstrate.

Marcus rolled his eyes. "You're going to get sick and then your quidditch captain will have a fit because you won't be in your best shape."

"I don't care what Oliver says."

"You should. Here, I'll help you up," Marcus held out his hand.

Katie narrowed her eyes. "I'll get up when you make a snow angel."

"Come on, Bell. You're being silly. Slytherin practice will be starting soon."

"So I guess you'll have to chance them seeing us together. What, are you too _pureblood_ to make a snow angel?"

He narrowed his eyes back at her, though it was playful. "No."

Katie's heart warmed at his answer. "Then come on, join me." She patted the snow. Once again she loved the feel of it beneath her fingers.

Marcus sighed and shook his head in amusement before he joined her.

She waited a few moments before speaking. "You're supposed to flap your arms up and down. Otherwise you're just making a police chalk outline for a crime scene."

Marcus laughed and turned toward her. She loved the rare moments when she could make him laugh. "What?"

"Never mind," Katie said impatiently. "Do you know how to make a snow angel?"

"I know how to make a snow angel." Marcus's voice sounded amused, and Katie narrowed her eyes. She didn't like that voice. It sounded like that lately whenever they were together. It sounded as if he had a secret, and she wasn't sure if she liked that.

He started flapping his arms and legs up and down and looked over at her. "Happy now?"

"I don't know… maybe we should add some wings and a halo."

He rolled his eyes. "Now you're pressing your luck." He stood up and held his hand out.

Katie sighed reluctantly and took his hand. It was the first time their hands had touched and she was surprised at how comfortable it felt.

She thought his hand lingered in hers longer than it should've, and she found she didn't want to move.

Marcus let go finally a moment later. "You should go," he said quietly.

Katie felt a twinge of disappointment, though she tried not to let it show. "Yeah…" She nodded and backed away.

"Bye."

"Bye."

She waited a moment longer to see if he would say anything else, but when it was clear he wasn't going to she took off running toward the castle.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! This story is also a repost from Fanfiction.net. I am switching to this site and want my main stories on here too. I do have some new work planned! Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does.**


	2. Christmas Quidditch

Katie was sitting in the stands with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. They were all half expecting Oliver to give an hour long speech like he did last year, but he surprised them on the last word.

"All right, this is the last practice before Christmas break and we don't have any games until late January…so let's just have some fun."

"Fun?" Fred and George Weasley said together. "Do you know what fun means, Oliver?"

Oliver grinned and revealed a beach ball. "What does this look like?"

"DODGEBALL!" Katie yelled cheerfully as she leaped from her spot. She giggled as she ran forward to grab the ball from Oliver.

"Dodgeball?"

"Oh, come on. Work with me here," she said, rolling her eyes. Harry was the only one who knew how to play the game, but he reluctantly helped her go over the rules with Oliver.

"Why aren't you more excited about this? This is the coolest game next to Quidditch," Katie said, nudging Harry.

Harry made a face. "Bad memories…my cousin got the whole class to throw dodgeballs at me for a whole gym period. I wasn't "The Boy Who Lived" at my muggle school."

Katie stared at him before shrugging. "So we'll make some good memories. Come on, you can be on my team."

Harry hesitated before grinning. "All right," he said as they entered the pitch and started jogging toward the middle of the field.

Everybody was actually having fun an hour later. Oliver was even grinning as he threw the beach ball in the air, but his smile turned to a frown when Katie caught the ball. "What?" she asked him curiously. Everybody else joined them with displeased expressions on their faces, and Katie turned around.

Her heart did a skip when she saw Marcus Flint standing there behind her… along with the rest of the Slytherin team.

"You call this practice?" Marcus chuckled and the rest of the Slytherin team joined him.

Oliver walked closer and stood protectively next to Katie. "It's called having fun. Something I don't think you know anything about."

"I know how to have fun. I just didn't think that Oliver Wood actually did…you always drive your team to the ground. And now you're…" Marcus made a face at the beach ball as he took it in his hands.

"Playing dodgeball," Katie surprised herself by answering Marcus with a cold tone. She had to remember her place right now.

Marcus's eyes studied her, but his expression didn't change. "Right… well, it's time for you to take your Muggle game elsewhere and let the real professionals play now."

"We were here first." Katie surprised herself again by answering before Oliver did.

Oliver shot an incredulous look at her and nodded. "I booked the field for the whole afternoon, Flint. Do you really want a repeat of last year when this happened?"

Marcus took a step forward. "The question is…do you?"

The two seemed like they were having a staring contest, neither wanted to break eye contact first.

"We'll play for it," Marcus said finally.

"Excuse me?" Oliver scoffed.

"We'll have a scrimmage game," Marcus said slowly. "The team who loses has to leave, and the team who wins gets the field for the rest of the day."

"That's ridiculous," Oliver said.

"It's actually a good idea," Katie said before she could stop herself. She couldn't seem to stop surprising herself today.

"You're taking his side?" Oliver asked, motioning to Marcus.

"No…but you have to admit that a scrimmage game is safer than getting into fights over names or throwing up slugs."

She heard a chuckle from Malfoy, and Katie ignored him.

"Fine," Oliver said coldly. "If we win, you will leave us alone too," he told Marcus.

"You have my word." The two shook hands.

Marcus winked at her as they mounted their brooms and Angelina nudged her. "Did Flint just wink at you?"

Katie scoffed. "Absolutely not!" she said coldly. She wanted to throw a smile his way, but she couldn't right now.

The game began and it quickly became violent. The Slytherin team was using moves they knew wouldn't be allowed otherwise.

Katie dodged a bludger being thrown her way and caught the quaffle in her arm. She flew around a Slytherin Chaser and made a goal. Fred flew by her side and gave her a high five.

Marcus was hanging around with another fifth year chaser, though she thought she saw a hint of a small smile play on his lips. She had to be careful not to act like she noticed, though her heart danced at the smile.

"We need to take Bell out," she heard Montague say to Marcus.

Oliver narrowed his eyes and he started to fly forward, but Katie held a hand out to stop him. She didn't want another fight between the two captains.

"No," she heard Marcus say.

Katie stopped flying around, surprised.

"Why not?" the boy argued.

"I'm the captain, that's why. Don't even thinking about laying a hand on Bell."

Katie grew suspicious. They were friends, but why was Marcus acting protective over her? He shouldn't be acting like this. She had to say something before he blew their cover.

"Thanks, Flint, but I can take care of myself," Katie called out to him.

Marcus's eyes widened when he realized she had actually spoken to him in public. "I wasn't implying you couldn't," he said coldly.

"Good. I don't need a knight in shining armor." Katie hadn't meant to use those choice of words, but a flicker of emotion flashed in his eyes. It gave Katie another reason to wonder what secret he was hiding from her lately.

"Fine," he muttered angrily. He flew off to the other side of the field, and Katie sighed. She hoped he wasn't really angry with her, but it was hard to tell with him sometimes. He had to know that she was trying to keep their friendship a secret, right? That had been what he wanted.

Oliver was suddenly next to her. "You ok?" he asked, placing a hand over her shoulder. "Yeah," she said quietly.

"Don't let them get to you. We won't let them hurt you."

"I'm not worried," Katie lied. She was worried, but not about being hurt. What was going on with Marcus?

She was about to score another goal when a Bludger hit her hard on the arm. She winced in pain as she felt her arm snap.

"Katie!" Marcus was the closest person nearby and he flew to her side immediately. "Are you ok?" He reached for her arm to examine it, and she shook her head.

"My arm…I think it's broken." Tears rolled down her cheeks and she rested her head on his shoulder and immediately pulled back. She expected Marcus to be furious with her for doing that, but instead he was throwing his chaser a furious look.

"Katie!" George and Fred appeared next to her. They gave Marcus a curious look, but he flew off before they could say anything.

"Marcus didn't do anything," she said quickly.

"We know. He started yelling at his friend, it was so strange really. He normally is in favor for his players to attack us-"

WHAM!

Their heads whipped around in surprise when they saw Marcus scowling. He had apparently hit Montague with a beater's bat.

"I thought I told you to leave Bell alone," they heard Marcus say as he tried pushing Montague off the broom. Adrian Pucey had to pull him off in order to leave him alone.

Harry had caught the Snitch in the midst of all the chaos, causing them to win the game.

"Come on, let's take you to the hospital wing," George said as they flew toward the ground. Katie nodded as she rested her head against his shoulder.

She peered around his shoulder to look for Marcus, but he had already walked off the field furiously.

She was at the hospital wing getting a huge lecture from Madam Pomfrey. "An unofficial scrimmage match? That's unheard of. What if one of you died?"

She sighed as she healed Katie's arm. "You got lucky this time. Now go, I don't want there to be any more Quidditch injuries.

Katie walked out of the hospital wing and nearly ran over Marcus. She stumbled and he caught her by grabbing her arms. "Are you ok?" he asked, looking down into her eyes.

"Yeah, it was just a broken arm. I've got a nasty bruise though."

Marcus cursed when he looked at it. "I'm sorry, Katie. I told them not to go after you-"

"I know. I'm sorry I got close to you like that earlier. My arm was just in so much pain…"

"Its fine," Marcus said, cutting her off with a hug. When he pulled away he held out a yellow daisy.

"What's this?" Katie asked as she stared at it suspiciously.

"It's a bomb in disguise," Marcus said sarcastically. "It's a flower, silly."

"But…why are you giving me a flower?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Am I supposed to have a reason?" he questioned her.

"Guys usually do."

"I'm just… glad you're ok. I also want to be pen pals over break. Is that ok with you?"

Katie was about to answer when George came around the corner. He stopped suddenly when he saw the two of them together. Katie quickly hid the flower behind her back and hoped he hadn't seen it.

"I'll see you around, Bell." Marcus nodded to her and then to George.

George's eyes narrowed skeptically as Marcus walked past him. "You ok?"

"Never better," Katie said, having trouble keeping her smile to herself.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! There will be more to come! Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K.Rowling does.**


	3. Secret's out

Katie was working on Charms homework during a study session one day when she decided to write a note to Marcus. He had finally finished Hogwarts, but she missed him and they remained pen pals. George had given her a charmed parchment where she could write to the receiver quickly and they could respond back right away. He wanted it tested out, and she agreed to be the first tester.

 **Hey you,** she wrote with a smile.

_Katie? Woah, this thing is weird._

Katie giggled and looked around. She didn't want to get caught writing these notes in the study hall.

**Yeah, but it's sort of like talking face to face, isn't it?**

_Not even close. I miss you._

Her breath caught in her throat as she read those words. She wondered what he really meant by those words.

 **I…** She couldn't write that she missed him too. **What's new?** She sighed. Why couldn't she write what she really felt?

_Nothing really, just going to different try outs and stuff. I hear there's a Yule Ball coming up._

_I bet you're breaking lots of hearts, aren't you?_

Katie blushed and looked around. **One heart….George Weasley asked me to the dance.**

_Oh? And what did you say?_

**Why are you so interested?**

**_…_ ** _Because you're my friend._

**I said no.**

_Why?_

Katie paused. Could she tell him the truth?

**He…he wasn't who I had in mind. I like someone else.**

_Well….maybe that someone else would like to go with you too. He thinks you'd look pretty in a dress. He'd be honored to be your date._

Katie's eyes widened as she stared at his words. How did he know? How did he know?

"Katie!" Angelina gave her a curious look. "You look like you're…are you ok?"

Katie pushed back her desk. "No…I have to go." She rushed out of the study session and ran off before Angelina could say another word.

* * *

She managed to avoid Angelina the next day, but at lunch time the Gryffindor Quidditch team met at a table. "Oliver's meeting us at Hogsmeade today."

"Really?" Katie groaned to herself. She had forgotten about that.

"Are you going to tell me about-"

"No. We're already late," Katie said as they headed out the Great Hall and started walking towards Hogsmeade.

The two friends met up with everybody at Three Broomsticks and Angelina and Katie both hugged Oliver tightly. "How'd your first game go?" Katie asked Oliver right away.

"I didn't get to play…I'm just a reserved player." There was a slight note of disappointment in his tone that Katie recognized and she nudged him.

"Oh, come on. Don't be so hard on yourself. You're on your dream team! I bet you'll be playing Keeper really soon."

"Yeah," Oliver said, as he looked around. "So…Harry, nice job with that dragon. I heard you flew wickedly."

Harry's face turned red and he nodded. "Thanks…that's nothing now. I have to ask a girl out to the Yule Ball now. It's a tradition."

"There's a ball?" Oliver looked interested. "Who're you asking?"

Harry pretended to look interested in his butterbeer. "I… haven't asked anybody yet."

Fred shook his head and tsked. "I keep telling him he'd better get a move on, or all the good ones will be taken." He slipped an arm over Angelina's shoulders. "I asked Angelina," he said proudly.

"What?" Oliver shook his head in shock. He looked over at George. "Who're you going with?"

George's face turned red and he shrugged. "I…er…asked Katie to go with me."

Oliver's eyes grew bigger and he looked at Katie in surprise. Katie had to look away awkwardly as Angelina gave her a pointed look. "And?" Oliver prompted after a second.

Katie wanted to be far away from here now. She wanted to hide her face in embarrassment. She felt like a jerk because of how glum George looked. He was a sweet guy, really. He just wasn't the one who made her heart pound.

Marcus was. The startled realization almost made her fall off the chair, and she had to grip on the table from falling. George was avoiding making eye contact, and the group grew quiet.

Katie hadn't noticed that she had dropped something until Oliver looked down. She didn't even notice a note had fallen out of her pocket until he reached down and picked it up. His eyes caught notice of the note's content, and her heart flipped. Oh, no. It was Marcus's note, she thought frantically to herself.

"Excuse us for a moment…I need to have a private word with Katie," Oliver said as he pulled her off the stool.

The rest of the group stared at the two in silence as Oliver dragged Katie out of Three Broomsticks. "Oliver!" Katie said as she tried to pull her arm away. "Where are we going?"

"Believe me, you don't want us to be overheard," Oliver said quietly.

They didn't stop walking until they were at the Shrieking Shack. "Really? We're going to talk about this here?" she asked as she looked at the building. At least they didn't really have much of a chance of being overheard.

"Yes," Oliver said as he turned around to face her. He held up the note and then crossed his arms. "Can you tell me why on earth Marcus Flint is writing to you? I'm not, dumb, I know his handwriting. Why on earth would you turn down George Weasley for him?"

"I-" Katie sighed as she sat down. "We should sit down….we need to talk."

* * *

**A/N: To be continued! :)**


	4. Confessing time

Recap: They didn't stop walking until they were at the Shrieking Shack. "Really? We're going to talk about this here?" she asked as she looked at the building. At least they didn't really have much of a chance of being overheard.

"Yes," Oliver said as he turned around to face her. He held up the note and then crossed his arms. "Can you tell me why on earth Marcus Flint is writing to you? I'm not, dumb, I know his handwriting. Why on earth would you turn down George Weasley for him?"

"I-" Katie sighed as she sat down. "We should sit down….we need to talk."

* * *

Oliver gave Katie a wary look, but he sat down in the snow and gave her an intense look. He brought his knees to his chin, and she crossed her legs. She did miss having Oliver in her life like this. He was one of her good friends, and was very much like a brother to her.

"How'd you know Marcus was writing back to me?" She asked quietly.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Marcus sat next to me in Potions. I recognized it right away after sitting next to him for several years. Now answer me this…are you two _dating?"_ He asked the question sharply, and that caused Katie to wince at first.

"No," she answered quietly. She really didn't want to have this talk, but she supposed it was better to have it with Oliver than Angelina or anybody else first.

Oliver regarded her with an appraising look on his face. "But you _like_ him," he clarified in the same sharp tone.

"Stop using that tone!" Katie cried, standing up. "You're making this more difficult than it is and it's already hard enough."

He sighed and looked up at her. "All right…I'm sorry. I'll stop using that tone. Can you still talk to me like before though?"

"I'll try," she said as she sat back down. "Marcus and I haven't been dating. He's just been a good friend since my second year. He always helped me out of rough paths with the other Slytherins, and we just started talking. I guess he was just always protective of me." Katie shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her hands awkwardly.

"We kept our friendship a secret. I'm not really sure why. He stopped being ashamed of me a long time ago…but he always seemed like he had a secret that he was trying to hide from me. I didn't pick up on it until the past year."

Oliver opened his mouth to say something furiously, but thought better of it and closed it again. He looked away and cleared his throat before saying, "How often did you see each other?"

Katie shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't count how many encounters she had had with Marcus Flint. "We'd see each other whenever we could. Sometimes it wasn't planned. We'd see each other before Quidditch practice, or afterwards. Sometimes we'd stay behind from Hogsmeade trips to see each other when our friends wouldn't be around. We'd just go to the library and study sometimes. He has stuck up for me a lot in the past," she murmured quietly.

"And it never occurred to you why he was doing that?"

She shook her head. "I just thought he wanted to be my friend."

"You never thought he was using you to get to me?"

Katie scowled. "If he was using me, he would've hurt me a long time ago! Our friendship was never about trying to get to you, or anybody else."

"But Katie, he's a Slytherin. Slytherins generally don't think of anybody but themselves."

"Marcus is different," she said fiercely.

Oliver stared at her for several moments before speaking again. "You like him," he murmured quietly.

"We're just friends," Katie said, though her heart raced at the possibility of them being more.

"Oh, merlin. I like him. What am I going to do?" Katie buried her head into her knees.

She felt Oliver kneel down beside her and he lifted her chin. "You're going to write him back. And invite him to the ball."

"I'm scared," she protested.

"There's always going to be things in life that scare you. You're a Gryffindor. You shouldn't be afraid of falling in love though. I'll be with you while you write to him if you want."

Katie hesitated for a moment and nodded. "Please…stay." She felt like a child asking her crush to the ball, but she really didn't think she could take the first step by herself. She took a deep breath and reread Marcus's last words he wrote to her.

_Well….maybe that someone else would like to go with you too. He thinks you'd look pretty in a dress. He'd be honored to be your date._

**You're charming,** Katie wrote with a smile. It was nice how easy this flow came back to her.

_You're back! I was hoping I didn't scare you off._

Her eyes met Oliver's and he nudged her. Go on, he seemed to be saying.

**No, you didn't. Marcus….will you be my date to the Yule Ball?**

She held her breath, and Oliver wrapped his hand around hers while they waited for his response.

_I thought you'd never ask._

"He likes you," Oliver sang uncharacteristically.

"Stop," Katie said, laughing lightly.

"He likes you. But if he hurts you, I'll have to hurt him. In fact-" He stole the piece of paper and began writing.

"Oliver!"

**Flint. This is Wood here. You have my permission to date Katie, but if you hurt her you'll have me to answer to. Understood?**

_Wood. I didn't realize I had to have your permission to ask her, but I have no intentions of hurting her. I'll kick any of my friends who try to hurt her instead._

Katie almost didn't care about the exchange between Oliver and Marcus, her heart felt like it was flying. She actually had a date with Marcus Flint!

Marcus Flint actually liked her!

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does.


	5. The Yule Ball

A few days later Katie was getting ready for the ball. Marcus and Katie had written a few more times, but she could tell he was wanting to save most of their time together in person. She did her hair and make up with the rest of the girls in a blur. She could barely even remember putting on her dress.

Alicia and Angelina finished touching up their makeup at the same time and they finally turned to Katie.

"Are you going to tell us who your date is now? Oliver made us promise we wouldn't kill you. I still can't believe he knew before me," Angelina complained.

"He figured it out," Katie said defensively. She decided to cut to the chase. "It's Marcus."

Both of the girls eyes grew wide. "As in….Flint?"

Katie's face expression softened at his name, even though it was his last name. "Yes. Look…he's been there for me a lot. He's pretty much the reason why the Slytherins didn't bully me that much. He stuck up for me and we became friends. Don't make a big deal out of this. He's a decent guy."

Angelina and Alicia opened their mouths to protest, but they stopped themselves and exchanged looks again. "Ok… but if he hurts you-"

"You'll kill him. But he doesn't have any intentions of hurting me. So give him a chance. Please? And make sure your date doesn't kill him," she said quickly, nodding towards Angelina.

"I'll keep Fred busy," Angelina said dryly.

They finally made their way downstairs and Katie immediately started looking for Marcus. She spotted him at the bottom of the staircase, and she had to stop walking. Her heart had done some somersaults.

She beamed as she approached him, but she couldn't say a word because of how nervous she was.

* * *

**Marcus's pov**

Marcus couldn't believe he was back at Hogwarts again. He never thought he'd actually be here again. It was different this time though with students from other schools roaming about everywhere.

Viktor Krum was actually the only Durmstrang student who acknowledged him, though Marcus didn't really care to fawn over him. He wasn't really much for celebrities.

His eyes suddenly caught Katie approaching him. She was wearing a beautiful peach colored gown that seemed to agree with her perfectly, though she could've been wearing anything and he still would've thought she was beautiful.

"Hey beautiful," he murmured after a few moments of silence.

"Hey, handsome," She laughed lightly and the sound made his heart dance. He was about to give her a flower he brought her, but she surprised him when she moved close to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Marcus closed his eyes as he hugged her back.

He didn't have anything to worry about. Nobody would tell him otherwise.

He caught Malfoy's incredulous look, but Marcus shot him a warning look and he disappeared with his date.

A few moments later, the champions started dancing and the teachers joined a few moments after. Marcus grinned at Katie and held out his hand. "Want to dance?"

"That is what we are here for," she joked. "I have to warn you that I'm pretty bad."

"No, you can't be that bad."

"I am," Katie admitted honestly.

"Just follow my lead then."

They danced to slow songs, and then fast songs and Katie was surprised that Marcus could actually really dance. Fred and George only glared at him once, and he seemed to have fit in with her friends easily. She was glad there were no punches thrown yet.

Marcus suddenly pulled her off to the side. "You want to go for a walk?"

Katie hesitated and looked back at Angelina. She was dancing wildly with Fred, but she suddenly caught Katie's eyes and nodded as if she knew what she was asking.

"All right," Katie said shyly.

Marcus gave her a secretive smile, and her heart suddenly danced. Had that smile been for _her_ all along?

He held out his hand and she took it, not caring that she was gaining stares from the Slytherin crowd especially. "I'll protect you from them," he said, winking at her.

"I never needed a knight in shining armor," Katie answered quickly.

"I know." Her heart did another flip as she noticed the change in his tone. She placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead her outside.

They stopped outside near a water fountain and Katie couldn't help but shiver. It was a bit colder than she expected out here.

"Here," Marcus said suddenly as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. "You need this more than me."

Katie's heart melted for the thousandth time that night. "You're so…different than what I ever expected," she said softly.

"Yeah?" he asked, nudging her lightly.

"Yeah," she answered, meeting his eyes. "I never thought you'd be this decent guy, but you are. You've proven that more times than I can count."

"Well, I just didn't think it was right for the rest of the guys to pick on somebody that wasn't their size," Marcus answered, laughing nervously.

Katie stepped forward and placed a hand on his cheek. Her eyes widened at the bold moment. "I'm sorry," she said, but he stopped her hand from moving.

"Don't be sorry," Marcus said softly.

Katie swallowed nervously. He was much, much too close this time.

"Katie…will you be my girlfriend?"

Her eyes widened at the question. She wasn't expecting that question.

"Wh…what? But…we hardly know each other!"

"I do," Marcus said. "I do know you. I know you like to build snow angles when none of your other team mates will join you on a snowy day. I know which class is your least favorite, I know how you like your hot chocolate, I know your favorite color…and I know you're loyal to your friends. There's stuff I don't know about you, but I was hoping that would change."

"We're also ages apart!"

"I'm the same age Oliver is, and he's your best friend," Marcus said gently.

"I'm a Gryffindor and you're a Slytherin…..," Katie said.

His eyes hardened slightly at that one. "Do you honestly think I care about that after all that time? Do you? Because I don't remember the last time that even mattered to me. I just...I've liked you for a long time. And I thought you did too. But-"

"I do," Katie said, stopping him from backing away. "I'm just…surprised, that's all."

"Really? After all the hints I've given you lately?" Marcus shook his head in disbelief.

"Katie…" His lips suddenly brushed against hers. Katie was surprised by how warm, and soft they were. She also was surprised when she actually wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. And he kissed her passionately, and it deepened some more….she pulled away from him slightly.

"I think this means yes?" Marcus asked her quietly.

"Yes," Katie murmured finally after a moment.

Marcus suddenly straightened up when someone approached them. "Hello, Professor Snape!"

"Evening, Mr. Flint." Professor Snape's dark eyes narrowed skeptically at the two. "Marcus…I know you aren't a student anymore, and I don't have any authority over you anymore. But Ms. Bell is still a student. I think you two should return back inside before she gets into any trouble. It is almost curfew after all."

"Right. Yes, sir. We were heading that way," Marcus said, nodding.

Katie stared at Professor Snape in awe as he walked away and turned back to Marcus. "All right, if you weren't a former Slytherin student he would've given me a detention on the spot for being here," she said, shaking her head.

Marcus chuckled. "Well… yeah. He hates Gryffindors. With good reason too." He gave her a playful wink and then pulled her in sideways to place a kiss on her forehead before she could protest.

"Who knew dating you would have some advantages? You're like my personal get out of jail free card." She twirled and wrapped a hand in his.

"Get out of… what?"

Katie rolled his eyes at him. "Azkaban. You're like my get out of Azkaban free card. Jail is for Muggles. And that was a Muggle game reference."

"You're silly," Marcus said, shaking his head.

"But if I'm to keep you out of Azkaban we should head back to the dance."

"Do we have to?" Katie said as she mock pouted. "I mean…I haven't seen you in forever. And the dance is so loud. Can't we find some…empty, dark corridor and snog?"

Marcus's eyes widened at the end of her sentence. "You're a troublemaker, Bell," he murmured softly, wanting nothing more than to do the very thing she mentioned.

"I'm a Gryffindor. We're supposed to be bold and brave." She gave him a seductive look as she pulled him closer toward her. "Now the question is…Does a smart, cunning Slytherin want to be bold and brave like me?"

"I do," Marcus murmured huskily.

A thousand thoughts seemed to be going though her mind then but she smiled and nodded. "I was hoping you would," she said as she started leading the way.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Disclaimer: I own nothing you recongize.**


	6. A Cursed Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcus broke up with Katie somewhere in the fifth book because of Lord Voldemort's return to power and has Slytherin family obligations to follow. He breaks up with her to keep her safe and tries to forget about her until she ends up at St. Mungo's in the sixth book.

Marcus was just about to head out of his flat when he heard a knock on his door a few years later. He opened it and he looked surprised when he saw Malfoy standing there, looking paler than he usually did. "Malfoy?" He asked incredulously.

"What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you," Malfoy answered, walking in without being invited.

"I was just on my way- yeah. Sure. Come on in," he said, rolling his eyes and closed the door.

Malfoy sat down on his couch and placed his head in his hands and Marcus gave his old teammate a curious look. He had never seen Draco Malfoy look as distraught as he did tonight.

"What's up?" He asked, placing a hand on his shoulder awkwardly. He looked like he needed to be comforted. Marcus wasn't good at comforting his friends, but they were somewhat in the same situation.

Draco looked up and inched away. "You're not going to like me in a minute," he said with a shaky voice.

"Come on," Marcus said, shaking his head. "We've known each other for years. We've been sticking through this whole war together so far."

Draco sighed and looked at him. "You know my task that I was given by… _him_?" he said quietly, looking around nervously as if somebody was going to come bursting in at any moment.

Marcus frowned. "Vaguely. We aren't supposed to talk about our orders, you know."

"I'm not, not really." He took a deep breath again and let it out. "I was given a job to do. A very important one, and, well…it's not going well at all." He buried his head into his hands.

"Draco, I'm already late to the meeting. The least you could do is just tell me what's going on, and hurry."

"I cursed Katie Bell," Draco blurted out when he looked up at him again.

Marcus's heart dropped at the sound of Katie's name.

_Katie._

He hadn't spoken to Katie in ages. How long had it been? One year, he answered himself. It had been almost one year since he ended their relationship. He even stopped being friends with her, all because he was caught on the wrong side of the war with no way out. It was family duty to follow Lord Voldemort's footsteps. He couldn't have her looking at him any lesser than he actually was. He couldn't have her get her mixed in like he was.

The breakup had torn him apart.

"Wait… what?" He shoved Draco against the couch. "What do you mean you cursed her? What did you do?"

"I didn't mean to!" Draco said, jumping up and placing his hands up protectively.

Marcus jumped up as well. "I've been keeping my distance from her for a reason. To protect her. And you curse her?" He swung a closed fist back and punched Malfoy's face. Malfoy staggered and Marcus grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the wall. He didn't care about his neighbors being able to hear at that moment.

"What the bloody hell did you do to her?"

"She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time," Malfoy said. "I didn't want her to have any part of this. I didn't plan on it. She ran into one of my friends in the girls bathroom at Hogsmeade and they used the Imperius curse and she picked up the cursed necklace… she's at St. Mungo's. The Healers don't know if she'll ever wake up."

Marcus's eyes widened at these words and he slammed Malfoy into the wall.

Malfoy winced. "I'm sorry, mate," he said.

Marcus held a hand up to wave the apology away. "No, you don't get to apologize for this. You just better hope that she doesn't die."

He ran a hand through his hair. There was no way he was going to make that meeting now. He might as well go to St. Mungo's to see Katie himself. He hated that this was what it took to make him see her. She wouldn't want to see him if she was conscious though. Not after everything.

"I'm going to go see her," he said finally.

"But what about the meeting? We're running late as it is."

Marcus gave Malfoy a look. "You'll come up with something. This is your fault anyway. Neither of us would be in this mess if you had just done your mission properly. There's no way I'm not going to see Katie now."

"Marcus-" Malfoy said, but fell short when Marcus shook his head.

"Don't. I can't be on this side right now. I can't have any part of this. I never should've been part of this." Marcus let the door slam behind him on his way out as he stormed out.

***

Marcus didn't know what else to do. He wasn't going to the meeting and there was no way he could go to his parents' house or back to his flat. So he decided to go visit Katie at St. Mungo's.

Marcus couldn't believe that Malfoy hurt his precious Katie... He sat beside her bed. He could feel his heart breaking. "Please… don't die on me now. I'm sorry about everything. I just wish I could speak to you again. I'm sorry it took this for me to come see you again."

Marcus looked down at his girl again and brushed some hair out of her eyes. He picked up her hand and held it tightly in his own. "You just need to come back because I never told you that I loved you."

He covered his head with her hand so he could hid the tears that were falling. He hated to admit that he was shaking in fear now. He pressed a few tender kisses against her hand and then her forehead and her lips.

Marcus buried his head in her shoulder, wishing these tears would stop. He never cried before, never. The thought alone scared the hell out of him.

"Flint? What're you doing here?" Marcus stiffened as he recognized Oliver Wood's voice.

Oliver's expression was cold when he first turned around, but then it softened when he saw how broken Marcus must've looked. The two said nothing for a moment, and Marcus finally cracked. "I…know I shouldn't be here. Everything is just messed up right now. But…I can't lose her. I can't. She's…my light. I can't…" he broke off and closed his eyes tightly. He shook his head stubbornly.

He heard Oliver walk beside him and was surprised to feel his hand pat his shoulder reassuringly. "She'll make it through this. She's Katie. She's strong."

"But what if she doesn't? She told me she loved me."

"She did?!" Oliver asked in shock.

"Why is that a surprise? We dated about a year."

"Yeah, but… love… I never expected her to fall in love with you."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Marcus said as a smirk suddenly almost played on his lips.

"Well," Oliver said, quietly, trying not to hurt his old enemies' feelings. He couldn't believe they were here right now, actually getting along.

"What'd you say?" Oliver said, trying to be nice.

"I…freaked and walked out," Marcus admitted honestly.

"WHAT?!" Marcus was suddenly pinned to the wall by Oliver, and Oliver looked like he was close to punching him.

He used his weight to shove Oliver off him. He wasn't in the mood to fight with his old enemy then. "Would you get off me? I've been trying to figure out how to take this back. But everything has gotten a bit complicated with the war. We've been avoiding each other… I've been…protecting her from stuff. I didn't think I'd have to worry about her at Hogwarts, but she's here. Isn't that karma enough for you?"

Oliver glared at Marcus, but he slowly released him, looking uncomfortable. "I'm sorry… if you need a friend, I'll be one," Oliver said slowly.

Marcus turned his head sharply to look at Oliver. "I don't need a Gryffindor's pity," he said in a hushed tone.

Oliver sighed. "Look…before all of this, I know that Katie saw something in you. She always did. Maybe in honor of her, we should call a truce?"

"In honor of her? She's not dead," Flint said, looking back at Katie.

Oliver grimaced. "I didn't mean that. I'm not good with words here. She just sees something in you and I think we should just…get along for her. I'm her best friend. You…were her boyfriend. Seems about time to put the past behind us. What do you say? Truce?" He held a hand out towards Marcus.

Marcus stared at his hand incredulously before looking back and forth between his hand and Katie. He knew what Katie would want him to do. "Yeah, all right. Truce," he said as he shook his former enemies' hand.

"What if I can't take back walking away from her? What if I can't ever tell her…" I love you, he wanted to say. But he didn't want to risk her hearing now if she could hear him. He wanted to tell her when she was well again.

Tears threatened to come out and Marcus quickly buried his head into his hands. He would not let Oliver Wood see him cry. But he really didn't know how to handle this. This was Katie. His Katie. He accidentally let out a choked sob and uttered a curse word.

Oliver uncharacteristically placed a hand on his shoulder. "I've known Katie since we were kids. She won't go down without a fight."

"You don't know that," he answered, shaking his head.

"She won't go down without a fight," Oliver repeated harshly.

Marcus jumped when Katie's other friends suddenly appeared in the room. He might've called a truce with Oliver Wood, but he didn't think he could be in a room full of his enemies, or former enemies right now. Whatever.

"I have to go," he said as he started backing out of the room.

"Flint," Oliver said in a harsh tone.

"I'm not leaving her again," he said quickly as he looked back at Oliver. "I'm staying in London as long as it takes. I just have to go," he said as he walked out of the room.

"Is he ok?" Angelina asked Oliver curiously, watching Marcus's departure as Alicia, Fred and George joined Oliver by Katie's side.

Oliver shook his head. "No, he's not."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I own nothing you recognize.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys! This isn't winter related, but it's the second part of the chapter before so that's why it matters for this collection.**

* * *

Oliver's face was the first face Katie could see when she woke up months later. She stirred weakly, wincing. Where was she? He was distracted with a Quidditch magazine and she tried to open her mouth but was unsuccessful several tries. She let out a weak sigh as she tried to speak. "Ollie…"

She winced again but tried to speak louder. "Ollie. Ollie!"

Katie's breathing was heavy as she looked around fearfully. What was happening? Where was she? Why couldn't she remember anything since before Christmas?

Oliver glanced down at her in surprise and a huge grin broke across his face. "You're awake!" he said happily as he rushed to her side, but Katie was having a panic attack.

"Katie!" Oliver pulled her into a quick hug before looking into her eyes. "It's ok, just breathe, just breathe," he said calmly, trying to breathe in and out calmly to emphasize. Katie tried to allow herself to breathe in and out, but she couldn't. Everything hurt. What happened to her?

She grabbed hold of his hand and he held it tightly, but she closed her eyes as her head fell to his chest. Tears started rolling down her cheeks and he wiped them away, muttering nonsense soothing sounds.

Why couldn't she breathe? Her heart sped quicker and she began to feel warm. Oliver wrapped his arms around her protectively as she continued to struggle with breathing.

"You're ok, you're ok," he repeated. Katie tried to answer, but she could only manage to shake her head firmly. She wasn't ok. What was wrong with her? Her whole body started shaking and she tried to focus on Oliver but she couldn't.

Oliver widened his eyes and started calling for help. She saw someone come into the room, but everything was blurry after that.

Someone was trying to make Oliver leave as someone placed an oxygen mask on her face but he pushed their arms away. "I'm not leaving," he said firmly.

"Mr. Wood, this isn't protocol. You can't be here."

"She's my best friend," he said, pushing his way back through security's arms. "I'm not leaving." He walked back over to her bedside and his hand was back in hers.

Katie thought the other person she had seen beside Oliver was Marcus. Her heart leapt in her chest and she struggled to remain conscious. He couldn't be here though. She was definitely seeing things. "Marcus?" Katie managed to breathe out before she drifted back into the darkness again.

* * *

Katie woke up a few days later to see that he was still there, but this time he was watching her instead of reading. She started to stir lightly but he held a hand out in front of her to motion her to stop moving and walked over to her. She winced the first time she tried to speak.

"Shh, don't overdo it," Oliver said as he softly ran a hand through her hair as she sighed in frustration.

Relief suddenly spilled over his features and he pulled her into a hug. He started to let go, but Katie held on and buried her head into his shoulder. She was afraid to let go, afraid to go asleep again. She was afraid of never waking up. "No more darkness," she murmured finally and he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"No more darkness," he promised as he squeezed her gently.

Katie relaxed slightly, but she didn't let go and Oliver didn't try to let go of her either.

Katie was suddenly overwhelmed by how much she missed her best friend. "Ollie," she said as tears started to roll down her cheeks.

Oliver's eyes widened fearfully and he looked at her. "You're not having trouble breathing, are you? The Healers said that might be normal at first. The shock of being awake might be too much at first."

She shook her head quickly as she gave him another tight hug. "I missed you," she said softly and his expression changed.

"I've been here this whole time," he murmured. "I'm so glad you're ok."

"This whole time? What about Quidditch?"

"Off season," Oliver said, shrugging his shoulders. It was a lie, but she didn't need to worry about that. His best friend had needed him more than the game did.

"I didn't know that you were here," she said. "I was trapped with no way out. I thought I'd never see you again. Or Angelina, Alicia, the twins…Marcus."

Her heart gave a slight tug at the mention of Marcus. Why did she have to think of him now? Hadn't she tortured herself when she was stuck in her slumber all these months? It was bad enough thinking she had seen him the other day.

Oliver's expression changed again when she mentioned Marcus's name. He started to stand up and Katie grabbed hold of his hand, still not ready for him to leave quite yet. She hated feeling like she needed somebody, but she really didn't want to be alone so soon.

"I'm not leaving," he quickly said, squeezing her shoulder to reassure her. "It's just…there's someone here to see you. They've been here since you first woke up."

He opened the door and Marcus suddenly appeared. Katie's eyes widened and she tried to sit up straight in her bed. Her heart flipped at the sight of him, despite the fact that they weren't together anymore.

The two stared at each other in shocked silence for a moment. Katie suspected that her boyfriend was a Death Eater after he broke up with her a year ago. She hesitated when he started walking closer to her, not daring to move. But if he was here... what did that mean?

Oliver quickly excused himself but Katie suddenly wasn't paying attention to him anymore. Her breath had caught in her throat as Marcus walked closer to her now, looking more broken than ever. She closed her eyes when he was at the side of her bed finally. She was terrified that this would be another dream. Another horrible, torturous dream.

If he was here though… she didn't dare finish that thought. She didn't dare let herself get her hopes up. Not after all this time.

"Please don't let this be a dream," she murmured, opening her eyes. Marcus was still there. Her heart started to get a flicker of hope.

Marcus silently shook his head, still looking at her as if he couldn't believe this was happening either. "It's not," he said finally before he finally fell into her arms and buried his head into her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he said as he pulled away to look at her.

Katie rested her face on his forehead and placed a hand on his face. "I know," she answered, hugging him tight. "I know," she murmured.

He suddenly pressed his lips against hers and kissed her deeply. Katie kissed him back for several moments before she pulled away.

"What happened?" she asked him gently. She had a feeling she already knew the worst of it. But what happened to get him this way?

Marcus looked down at her and kissed her hand and then her lips again. He couldn't bring himself to answer for several long moments and Katie tried waiting as patiently as she could. If her suspicions were right, he was obviously torturing himself over whatever happened since they saw each other last.

"I chose the wrong side," he admitted finally.

Katie could feel her heart crushing at those words, but she grabbed his hand and squeezed it to remind herself. If he was here, then he was still the Marcus she knew. The Marcus she knew and loved.

"You were a Death Eater," she said quietly and Marcus looked into her eyes with surprise for several moments before nodding his head. He buried his head into her chest and started sobbing uncharacteristically.

" _Marcus,"_ Katie breathed lightly as she continued to hold him. Her heart fell as she pulled him close to her. She ran a hand through his hair and kissed his forehead.

Marcus took deep breaths and tried to get in control of his emotions.

"I want you to know something," Marcus said as he looked at her again. "I haven't been that person. Not since I found out that it was Draco Malfoy who cursed you." He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't even know who I am anymore."

Katie's heart fell at how broken he sounded and fought the tears that were threatening to spill over. "I do," she said, as he looked away, eyes flashing.

"Don't look away," she said, as she moved until he could see her. "If you're here, that means I know who you are. You're still the Marcus Flint that I love." His eyes widened at those words and Katie was the one who pulled him in for another kiss.

"I still love you," she murmured, wiping the tears away from his face. "After everything, I still love you."

Marcus shook his head. "You can't," he said, continuously shaking his head. "You can't love me. You don't know the things I have had to do. I'm a monster."

"No, you're not," Katie said.

"You're Marcus Flint. If you're here…" tears started pouring down her cheeks now and he was now looking down at her. "If you're here, then there's still light in you. And I still love you."

Marcus stared at her for several long moments before he pulled her into a hug. "I love you too…you don't know how much I regretted not telling you. I thought I'd never see you again."

"They couldn't get rid of me that easily," Katie said, managing a small smile as she ran a hand through his hair.

He shook his head and looked down into his hands. "I can't believe I almost lost you because of Malfoy. I'm so sorry," Marcus wrapped her into his arms again and Katie's heart fell again as she hugged him back.

"It's ok," Katie murmured.

Marcus shook his head stubbornly. "A friend betrayed me. I chose the wrong side. I made the worst mistake of my life. I don't know what to do. Katie, what do I do?"

"I don't know," she answered softly, her heart sinking again. Just seeing him again wasn't going to solve everything. Not this time. She was in over her head here. Her boyfriend was a Death Eater. How was she going to get him out of this? Nobody just walked away from being a Death Eater.

She wrapped her arms around him protectively. "You won't be alone," she said as she placed her hands on both sides of his face. "You'll have me."

Marcus shook his head. "No, I'm not getting you involved. It's too dangerous."

"I'm already involved!" Katie exclaimed. "My boyfriend is a Death Eater. You're not carrying this burden alone."

"You can't," Marcus said but Katie shook her head.

"I love you. You're not getting rid of me this time. Please let me help you." She grabbed his hand and held on.

Marcus lowered his head for a moment before he finally nodded.

Katie let out a sigh of relief, but it was only for a split second before she remembered the complications here.

Oliver peeked in and she could tell by his concerned expression that he had heard everything. "I couldn't help but overhear," he said and Katie rolled her eyes.

"I bet you could," she muttered, knowing that he was eavesdropping to try to protect her.

Katie gave Oliver a quizzical look when he suddenly smiled. "I know who could help in this situation."

Marcus gave her a look and she shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Oh, come on," Oliver said as he shook his head in amusement. "There's two people I know that would be best at planning this sort of thing. Well, three really, but I'm assuming Albus Dumbledore is a busy man. And they just happened to be in the area."

A look of dawning appeared on Katie's face and the door opened again. Fred and George walked in and Oliver and Katie exchanged a mischievous look. It was amazing how they were still able to be on the same page after all these months.

Marcus slowly straightened as the two appeared, but Katie placed a hand over his.

"Hey guys," Katie said as she gave them both a hug. They gave Marcus a curt nod but they happily exchanged hellos with the others.

"Do you want to help us do something dangerous?"

George gave her a suspicious look and Fred looked immediately eager. "Do I ever," he breathed, but paused as he looked between Katie and Oliver.

"What's dangerous?" George asked.

Katie looked at Marcus and then Oliver but Oliver nodded at her to continue.

She felt nervous all of a sudden, more nervous than when everybody found out Marcus was her boyfriend.

"I'm a Death Eater," Marcus said, causing everybody's heads to turn in his direction.

"That's one way to put it," Katie said. She started to get up when Fred and George immediately took angry steps forward, but Oliver placed a hand in front of her to keep her from getting out of bed. Marcus was already standing defensively.

"Katie, how could you date a Death Eater?" George asked furiously.

"I'm not," Katie said quickly.

Marcus sighed and stepped around Oliver. "What she means is… I don't want to be a Death Eater. Not since I heard about what happened to her." He gave Katie a soft look before bowing his head in shame. Fred and George stopped making furious steps towards him.

"I made a terrible mistake. I don't know how to undo this. It was family obligation. I didn't know she would be involved."

"Family obligation?" Fred said angrily as he took another step forward.

"Back off," Katie said as she tried to stand again. Oliver gave her a look and she made a face before crossing her arms.

"Yes, family obligation," Marcus said furiously. "I wish I could take it all back for her. But I can't. I don't want to do this anymore. I love her."

Katie's heart fell. How could Marcus honestly think he had no light in him? Oliver gave her a quick knowing look.

"Can you two help us hide him? Your family is in the Order," Oliver said and George threw a furious look at him.

"Not so loud!" he hissed looking towards the door.

"I put a silence spell on the door," Oliver said.

"Yeah, but still don't go shouting about this stuff, mate," George said as he took a step closer to Katie and Oliver.

"What do you need us to do?" Fred asked, suddenly eager again.

Katie shook her head as she thought of the complications again. "He can't go into hiding," Katie said and Oliver and Marcus both looked at her.

"She's right," Marcus said quietly. "There's no way to hide from this. It's a life sentence." He closed his eyes and his hand covered his left arm.

She placed a hand over his hand as she looked at the others. "He can't go into hiding. They'll kill him first chance they get. They killed Karkaroff when he fled." She remembered hearing about that from Marcus, but he appeared to have forgotten about that judging from the grimaced expression he was now wearing.

Katie looked at the twins again. "He can't go into hiding," she said firmly again. "But he could turn into a spy for the Order."

There was a grave silence as the twins looked at each other, seeming to have an unspoken conversation between themselves.

"That could work," George murmured softly.

"It's still dangerous enough too," Fred said with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

Oliver nodded his approval and Katie turned to Marcus. "Marcus?" she asked.

Marcus looked at her for several long moments before speaking. "You guys don't get it. We can't trick the Dark Lord. He can do things you can't even imagine. I'm a fool for even trying to think of a way out."

"It's a good thing you've got us on your side then," George said his eyes flashing in frustration. "Come on, mate. Stop being such a Slytherin and be bold for once in your life. You don't want to this anymore. But nobody just walks out on You-Know-Who. We all know this. But give us a chance to let us help you. And let your girlfriend be there this time too." George nodded at Katie.

Marcus was quiet for several more minutes before he nodded finally. "All right. Just tell me what I need to do."

Everybody else let out a breath at the same time, though Katie couldn't help but feel uneasy. She had a feeling this was much more complicated than any of them realized.

"First you'll come with us to our parents," Fred said. "We'll give you a moment." Oliver and the twins left the room and Marcus and Katie were in silence for a moment.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from this," Marcus said finally as he kissed her hand.

Katie pulled him close and kissed him deeply. "I know that you tried. That's how I know you still have light in you. You tried."

Marcus continued looking at her, though he looked like he was struggling not to cry again. "I don't know when I'll see you again. So please watch yourself. Be careful."

"I'm always careful," she said lightly, causing the two to chuckle together.

He kissed her one more time before he started to walk away. "Marcus," Katie said quickly. He lowered his head and glanced back with a sad look. "Don't let the other side change you. I know who you are," she said quietly. She had to make sure he knew that before he did whatever he had to do for the Death Eaters.

Marcus paused before he knelt beside her and took her hand and placed it on his chest. "You have my heart. You're the only one that's ever had it." He placed a kiss on her forehead before he walked quickly out of the room.

Oliver peered in a few moments later and sat next to her bed. "He's not a bad guy," he finally said after several moments of silence.

Katie let out a choked sob and shook her head. "He's not," she agreed. "He's one of the best ones that I know. His parents just got him sucked into the whole Slytherin Death Eater duty thing very young."

"He's lucky to have you."

Katie suddenly had a bad feeling about the whole situation. "He's going to be ok," she started saying over and over again. "He's going to be ok, isn't Oliver? I didn't just send him to his death?"

Oliver pulled her into a hug instead of answering. "If there's one thing I learned from Quidditch, it's that Marcus Flint is tough. He won't go down without a fight."

"This isn't Quidditch," Katie said.

"No," Oliver agreed. "But it's all the same determination. And courage."

Katie gave Oliver a weird look. "If I didn't know any better Oliver, I'd say it sounds like you've become friends with the guy."

Oliver hesitated before answering. "We made a truce when he first visited you. He's been staying at my flat since then."

It was Katie's turn to give him a hug. "Thanks," she said. "That means a lot."

Oliver nodded before he finally realized another thing he had to confess. "I lied to you earlier. About it being the off season for Quidditch right now. I took a leave of absence."

Katie's face fell. "Oliver, why? That'll ruin your career!"

He shook his head stubbornly. "My best friend needed me. You're more important to me than any championship game. You had nobody else."

Katie hugged him tightly. "Thank you," she murmured. "If anybody ever says that Oliver Wood is a soulless Quidditch obsessed person again, I will personally hex them."

A Healer came in the room moments later to tell Katie she could go back to Hogwarts the next day.

Oliver and Katie exchanged a look. "Will you be able to handle going back by yourself?" he asked her and she shrugged. "I won't be alone there."

* * *

Katie was finally released hours later and she was proved right that she wouldn't be alone. She was swarmed with people when she got back.

Harry Potter immediately cornered Katie in the Great Hall. "I've been trying to remember who gave me that necklace, but I don't remember. I'm sorry, Harry." Katie felt bad for lying to Harry, but she couldn't let on the fact that she knew Draco was part of this. Marcus would be in so much trouble.

She looked across the room and saw Draco standing there with wide eyes and Katie's expression suddenly grew cold. She hadn't expected to see him so soon after she got back. She glanced away and saw Harry connecting the dots in his head as he looked back and forth between the two. Malfoy quickly started walking away and Harry followed suit.

"Harry," Katie called. "HARRY!" she groaned as he quickly ran out of sight. There was nothing she could do now, those two had an ongoing feud for as long as she could remember. But she could warn a teacher.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading!**


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